Tuesday, July 04, 2006

4th Metric

I rose early this morning to head out and take part in the JBC Plainfield 4th Metric. I was registered and on the road by 6:40 am. There were only 4 or 5 other cars in the lot. When I finished around 10:40 am all the lots at the High School were full.

This was an organized ride, but because I departed so early and it being a holiday (all my Bikeforum.net Buddies were busy) I rode it solo. I passed some people and got passed by others, but I trudged this 63 miles alone.

The route was basically flat with a couple of rollers here and there. It was a rural route with light traffic and three rest stops. It was 70 degrees with 98% humidity when I hit the road.

My goal was to hammer it, as much as I can hammer it, and post a nice time and average speed. Something I could use in the future as a gage on where my fitness is. The 30 miles out to Morris were great and fast for me. Uh, when I made the turn back I found out it was due to a nice little tailwind that now was a head wind. Miles 35 to 50 solo into this wind were lonely and tough.

I recovered somewhat at the last rest stop and actually felt good at the end. I finished up just in time as it is nasty hot and humid out right now. The Stats: 63 miles, total time 4 hours 5 minutes, ride time 3 hours 38 minutes, 17.3 mph avg with 30.3 mph max, 140 avg heartrate with 161 max, 91 avg cadence with 113 max, and 2953 calories toasted.